It was blue skies and bright sunshine for Tuesday’s Midweek competition this week, and Section 8 made the most of the dry weather.
St Mary’s continues to be the form side, with a 5-1 win at home over Moolap. The visitors started well with Mel Eddy and Dolores Barrow winning the first set 6-2, but Maureen Knight and Anne Rowan showed what 29 years of partnerships can do winning the second 6-1 for the home side.
From there St Mary’s took control of the match, with Rowan and Knight teaming with Jean Lonsdale and Lucy Pyle, daughter of Knight, winning the remaining four sets, before the teams enjoyed the ability to have lunch after the match, something that had not been possible during Covid restrictions.
Grovedale remained in second place with a 6-0 win over Point Lonsdale. With a late withdrawal, the ladies from Lonny started three sets down, and struggled as the day went on.
Robyn Elliott and Steph Thomas opened the match with a close 6-4 win, and Elliott following up in the next with a 6-3 when she partnered with Adele Boyd. Grovedale rounded out the win with a 6-0 to Thomas and Boyd in the last pushing themselves to within half a point of first.
The final match of the day saw Leopold go into third with a 4-2 win away from home against Anglesea. The visitors blasted out of the blocks with Anne Maree Hoare and Margaret Fitzgerald winning the first set 6-0, and Jodie Walters and Mary Leitch 6-3 on the next court. Anglesea weren’t going to let the match get away from them, however, with Susan Bodger pairing with Martha Heysen, and Anne De Labertauche with Kath Sharp to level the sets with 6-4, 6-1 wins.
With only two games separating the teams going into the final two matches, both teams were poised to improve their ladder position depending on the
results.
Leopold dug in and took both of the remaining sets 6-1, 6-4, improving its chances at remaining in the top four with two rounds to play, in a section
where all teams are still in contention.
